


Stories Untold: The Alternate Story

by FlatlinedGamer



Series: Stories Untold [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: AU of AU, Dark Humor, F/M, M/M, Modern Girl in Thedas, Near Death Experiences, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, What-If, all the charaters, details details details, original character hell, stories untold
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-29 19:20:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10142162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlatlinedGamer/pseuds/FlatlinedGamer
Summary: Based on a series of What Ifs. This is basically Stories Untold with more detail and effort with major changes to the original story.Korbin struggles to make sense of the world around her as a series of events destroy nearly everything that makes sense to her. She finds herself in unfamiliar territory and her life in constant danger. Can she pull together the pieces of her broken soul alone or will she need help from the strangers around her?Set just after the explosion at the Conclave and goes from there.





	1. Easier To Run

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Stories Untold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2745683) by [FlatlinedGamer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlatlinedGamer/pseuds/FlatlinedGamer). 



> I had this incredibly weird idea while working on chapter 29 of Stories Untold that was basically a bunch of What Ifs. The main What If that changed everything was 'What if Grampa Max's cancer went into remission those 3 1/2 years before Korbin went to Kirkwall?" The answer was a landslide of changes. I also asked myself a some really important questions. What if I changed the tone of Korbin's story? What would be the result? What if I put more effort into writing in detail instead of running through the story like a nutcase? Why isn't she more concerned with her own safety? What the hell was I thinking? I also ended up changing Korbin's last name to Montgomery in an effort to keep this version separate. 
> 
> This story ended up being the result of too much thinking. I'm trying for weekly updates since the chapters are going to be so long. I'm using Grammarly to fix obvious mistakes, so with luck, there won't be as many problems. There are probably still some missing words that I didn't catch.

**Stories Untold: The Alternate Story**

**Chapter One: Easier To Run**

 

* * *

 

 

There was a time when I was a completely kind and soft-spoken girl and that’s likely why I was that way. I was still a child. With time comes the horrors life has to offer. Watching the news and counting off another death and a new war. Experiencing the way a boy can so easily cast you to the side. Crying your eyes out as your family members squabble over the spoils of a recently passed family member. The world can be unkind, but sometimes it will offer you an out that you can’t turn down.

 

I know what you’re thinking because I thought that same word on several occasions. Suicide just isn’t the way to go. You trudge through. Even if you only have one person that cares you exist, that’s one more person to think about. For me, it was my cousin Ray. He somehow managed to stay level headed and giving despite the world just taking all it can from you. No, suicide isn’t the out the world offers.

 

Sure, you can’t get a mulligan. There’s no reshuffling the deck to change your hand. You don’t get anything like that. There’s no going back in time. Sometimes, though, the world will give you a blank slate. I know it’s not a do-over like I wanted but it’s what I needed. Would I go back and do things over if I had known what I do now? Maybe, but only if it gave me the same good things.

 

Before we dive into my story, I’d like you to know a few things. My name is Korbin Montgomery. I have survived the loss of my parents, a beloved aunt, and my grandparents. I experienced the harsh betrayal of family. I was given a blank slate that I would never give back.

 

* * *

 

 

I sat in an uncomfortable hospital chair dozing off. My back protested the cramped position I sat in but I ignored it. Two months of this had been complete hell but I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I’d hardly slept in all that time but I refused to abandon the occupant of the bed. I split my time between managing my family’s farm and staying with my Grampa Max in the hospital. Things would be easier if my grandmother were still alive. I could split my time better. As it was, I was the only person available to stay with him. The rest of my family didn’t give a rat’s ass the person that held us all together was dying. Except for my cousin Ray. He was a deployed Marine. He had a valid reason not to be home helping me.

 

A soft sound caught my attention and I realized that Grampa Max was waking up. It was so rare these days that I always noticed when it happened. The sheets rustled as he tried to move. I quickly laid my hand on his and shot him a tense look. He didn’t need to try to get up.

 

“Grampa,” I said softly, “don’t try to get up. You’re supposed to be resting.”

 

He shot me a tired smile before lifting his hand from under mine, giving my hand a pat. His hand shook violently and he laid it back down beside mine. “Don’t worry about it,” he rasped. “I don’t have much longer left. I can hear Reese calling me to her side. It’s nearly time.”

 

“That’s not true,” I said thickly. My voice almost came out at a whine as emotion clogged my throat. “Grampa you’re going to be fine. The doctors are looking into treatments that could get you back on your feet in a matter of days. You’ll be fine.” I was crying now. He sounded so weak and so certain.

 

He gave me a tired but bright smile. “Sweetheart, you’re gonna be just fine without me. Make friends. Fall in love. Be happy. Just don’t turn into yourself, baby girl. You are so much better than that. Remember that we are always with you. You’ll never be alone if you remember that.” His eyes drifted closed as his voice drifted off in a whisper. I gave him a small smile. He was asleep again. I hated it when he talked about dying. It broke my heart and made me feel selfish.

 

“Miss Montgomery, could I speak to you a moment?”

 

My head shot up and I looked towards the door. Doctor Sattar stood in the doorway, beckoning me over. I unfolded myself from the chair and followed him out into the hallway. “Have you found anything?” I asked him hopefully.

 

He shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry Miss Montgomery. It’s progressed too far for any treatment to work. At this point, we believe it would be best to make him comfortable and prepare for -”

 

“Can he go home?” I asked, cutting him off entirely. “You said there was nothing you can do. Can he go home?”

 

“Yes,” Dr. Sattar answered. “He can go home. Please, make sure you have a plan in place for when the time comes.” With that, he walked away to do whatever it is doctors do after delivering world shattering news. I hated him in that moment. It wasn’t his fault that my grandfather was dying but I just _hated_ him _so much_ for forcing reality on me.

 

I hugged myself tightly as my throat started to feel like it was closing. My heart seemed to stop and begin beating too fast. The panic attack started to wash over me and I took deep, harsh breaths in an attempt to combat it. I couldn’t get enough air and it was my fault. I knew better but I hurt so bad in that moment that I forgot how to stop the panic from rising further. I finally eased myself against the nearest wall and down to the floor and cried. The panic attack subsided as I gave in and let out the pain I was trying to hold in.

 

* * *

 

 

Having Grampa Max back on the farm was a dream come true in a way. I had wanted him home for the past two months but now that he was here I felt like his condition was all my fault. It had taken a week to get everything in order. In that time his condition had worsened. He’d slipped into a coma three days prior and the doctors still felt it was best for him to come home. They said it was only a matter of time and he should be where he was most comfortable.

 

I talked to him insistently about daily farm happenings in that time.

 

“Domino broke into the paddock with Rose and Dixie. We might have a foal or two this time next year.”

 

“The hens are at it again. This time Jazzy the Black Australorp is the matriarch of the flock. Six years old and she’s still at it.”

 

“Taco is challenging the electric fence again. I have no idea why you wanted to keep that bull so badly, but I got a good laugh out of him snorting at the fence.”

 

It went on like this for nearly a month. He never woke up in all that time. He continued to waste away. It was heartbreaking to watch. It hurt that my cousin couldn’t be there, even if I didn’t actually want him to see it. One day the nightmare would end and a new one would begin. I called my other family members weekly, but they couldn’t bring themselves to care that Grampa Max was dying. So much for blood being thicker than water. Aunt Janie and Gramma Reese were likely rolling in their graves. At least, Gran was. That wasn’t a line of thought I needed to take.

 

‘One day’ arrived too soon. I sat telling Grampa about a deer I’d spotted out in the field when his heart monitor flat lined. I gripped his right hand and called his name in the hope that it would bring him back. I started saying ‘no’ over and over again as I fumbled with my cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. I could hardly speak coherently enough for the woman to understand what I was telling her but she did an amazing job getting the address out of me.

 

When they arrived nearly forty minutes later a paramedic had to remove me from the room by force. I sat numbly in a chair in the living room as they asked me what had happened. I answered almost in a whisper. On the outside, it looked like I had shut down but on the inside, I was screaming. I hurt so badly I could hardly function. The second they left I started making arrangements for Grampa Max’s funeral. I told myself that if I didn’t do it _now_ I would shut down completely and nothing would get done. I called each family member I had the number for and asked them to inform those I couldn’t contact.

 

And then I broke.

 

* * *

 

 

My head was swimming. I wished Ray could be there with me to make it stop. He just _knew_ how to make the rest of our family shut up. I could only describe the reading of Grampa Max’s will as a circus. Uncle Rick was angry. Aunt Lacy pouted like a spoiled child in sixty-year-old woman’s body. Uncle Willard wasn’t named in the will, he didn’t understand. Aunt Ruth didn’t get that vase in the hallway that she wanted. I sat among it all and cried because my family was not actually a family. They were a freak show of petulant, adult children well into their fifties and sixties. Grampa Max’s lawyer, Mr. Clemens, looked at me with pity when he realized someone had gone behind Grampa’s back and had the will changed.

 

It was a clusterfuck. There was no better word for it. I don’t know which one of them had done it, but I knew one of them had. Grampa Max had gone through so much trouble to make sure he didn’t leave anyone out. This farce that was being read as his will was a clusterfuck that not only left me out but also Ray. The house would fall to the state since no new owner was named. I would be homeless in a month. Ray would be homeless. All because someone in this room hated me and my cousin with a passion.

 

My family members fought around me and I sat there crying because there was nothing I could do. I had a month to clear out and find a new home that would allow me to keep my horse and my dog. That was it. I wasn’t allowed to ensure the other animals went to good homes when they were sold by whoever had gotten them. Probably Uncle Jean, even though he hates livestock. I forgot. I just wanted this whole fucking day to disappear. I wanted every fucking family member in the room to either die on the spot or vanish. Why couldn’t they see that I hurt enough without their squabbling over the scraps of my life? Why couldn’t they hurt over Grampa Max like I did? Why did they have to be this way? Vultures were better than this.

 

“Stop,” I croaked out, throat dry from holding in my tears. “Please just stop.” No one could hear me. They continued to fight and didn’t bother with me. I wasn’t in the will. I wasn’t a threat. I finally pushed myself out of the chair and thanked Mr. Clemens for his time and left the fuckery behind so I could try to find a new home.

 

Something I didn’t think I would ever find. Home went so much deeper than a random building.

 

* * *

 

 

It took less than a week for them to strip the house of everything that had ever belonged to my grandmother and grandfather. Uncle Jean tried to run off with my horse and my dog. I nearly decked him. I’d had enough. Why couldn’t they just go and stop adding to my pain? I hurt so much already and they were only making it worse. _So much worse._

 

Ray had been informed of what happened with the will. He was pissed but glad to know an investigation was underway. It was too late. Even if they found someone had illegally changed the will it was too late. Uncle Jean had already broken my heart further by sending all ten of Grampa Max’s horse to Mexico to be slaughtered. My heart hurt so much more just thinking about it. They went from being happy and loved to terrified. I needed to stop thinking about it before I broke myself further.

 

By the time it was over I was basically a husk. I could hardly think of myself as the same person. The pain in my heart refused to go away. I had no one to lean on. With Ray still in the Middle East on duty, I had no one. I felt like my life had ended without me. Is that how a ghost feels? Like the world is moving on while you’re stuck in some sort of limbo?

 

I walked into the barn and it struck me just how lifeless it seemed. Domino was getting himself in trouble. Rose on his left and Dixie on his right. Whiskey didn’t greet me from the other side of the isle. Jessup wasn’t there to ignore me. Ten horses and mules gone. The dapple gray head of Jax poked over his stall door and nickered at me as if he was asking where everyone was. I walked to his stall and let myself in before clinging to his neck and crying. Jax, in that way that horses do, understood that I needed him in that moment. He didn’t pull away. I sniffled after a while and lifted my head. Someone else was missing. My dog, Wrex, was missing. He’d been there after everyone was done stripping my life away and now he was gone too. I looked in the house, the tack room, and everywhere that was close enough to reach on foot. He was nowhere to be found. My only other option was to saddle Jax and head out into the fields to look for him.

 

The only tack left belonged to Jax and I gathered it up quickly. I grabbed my saddle bags and ran to the house for supplies. The first aid kit I kept on hand for animals. Food and water for myself and Wrex for when I found him. I threw as many useful items in as I could fit and ran back to the stable to tack up Jax and hunt for Wrex. He’d run away once and I’d found him near the creek at the back of the property standing over a dead bobcat. He’d chased it there and killed it after it had tried to kill the chickens. No one would ever convince me that German Shepherds weren’t amazing livestock guardians.

 

I mounted up and kicked Jax into a gallop. He seemed to understand that he needed to move faster than his normal lazy gait. He was a draft cross. He could eat up ground if he tried. He did just that and we found ourselves at the creek in no time. Dark clouds swirled overhead and it looked like a nasty storm was rolling in. I had to find Wrex and get both my boys back to safety before the rain started. I didn’t trust lightening and wet animals in the slightest.

 

After searching near the creek for nearly fifteen minutes I finally heard barking nearby. Wrex had to be on the other side of the creek because it sounded like he was behind me in the field. The area on the other side of the water was hilly and sound bounced in strange ways. Someone could be right across the creek from you and it would sound like they were behind you. It had been that way for as long as I could remember.

 

I urged Jax across the shallow creek and into the woods on the other side before stopping him at the top of the first hill so I could yell for Wrex. I turned Jax to follow the barking and before long I found him at the top of a hill in a clearing. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Wrex was barking at a large, green ball of light that was floating ten feet off the ground. I gasped at the sight. My brain couldn’t even begin to some up with an explanation for what it was.

 

I dismounted and pulled Jax along behind me. Whatever it was, he didn’t like it. I needed to get Wrex away from it in case it was dangerous. I edged closer and closer until I was able to grasp Wrex’s collar. Jax screamed in terror and Wrex whined as the ball suddenly pulsed and flashed before exploding and taking us with it.

 

* * *

 

 

I woke up feeling as if I was lying on something cold and wet. Something warm and wet slid across my face and I could hear whining in my right ear. Wrex. It was Wrex and he was trying to get me to wake up. There was a sharp tug on my left hand and when I brought my hand to my face to see what was going on I quickly realized two things. One, I was still holding Jax’s reins. Two, I needed to open my damn eyes to see anything. When I did open them I was confused. _Why the hell is everything white?_ Upon closer inspection from my position on the ground, I realized it was snow. _It doesn’t snow in Alabama. Not in South Central Alabama, anyway._

 

I slowly pushed myself off the ground, but no matter how slowly I moved it made my head throb. The second my boots were on the ground I wished I had stayed down. My head swam and my vision blurred. My head hurt so badly. I released Jax’s reins long enough to fully inspect my head and found that the left side where I had been laying on the ground was bloody. There was a laceration, but it had since stopped bleeding. Just in case I was mistaken I searched my saddlebags for the first aid kit and cleaned the wound as best I could without being able to see it. I hated using the kit I kept for the animals on myself. Once the wound was wrapped I felt better about the situation. As long as I found help I would be fine.

 

I looked around me again and became even more confused. I hardly recognized any of the trees around me as anything more than that. Trees. I’d grown up learning the common names of most of the species in Alabama and I should have been able to get a general idea of what part of the state I was in by identifying them. That wasn’t happening, though. I didn’t know what they were past knowing they were conifers. I couldn’t see anything over the tall trees, which meant I had no idea what sort of landscape I was in. Was it some sort of pine forest or was there more than what I was seeing?

 

I let out a huff. I was going to freeze to death out here. The ground was too soggy to start a fire. My head hurt. The situation completely sucked. On the bright side, Wrex looked like he’d caught an interesting smell on the wind. His nose twitched furiously and he whined. He wanted to know what it was, but he didn’t want to leave me. Smart dog. I didn’t want him to leave me either.

 

“Well, guys,” I sighed. “I guess we're gonna go with the best nose here and follow the smell.”

 

I started off in the direction Wrex had his nose pointed in and he fell in beside me as I started to pass him. I still didn’t see or smell anything, but I’ll be damned if I ignore a dog’s nose when I have no other option. I doubted anyone was looking for me, so staying put was not an option. I could die waiting for help just as quickly as I could die looking for help. Since Jax was fine I could ride him if I started feeling too bad.

 

The entire situation sucked. I had no food for Jax. It was summer in Alabama. I didn’t need to bring food for him. The food for Wrex was more of a bribe than an actual meal of any kind. The food for me consisted of snacks that just happened to be in my line of sight when throwing stuff in my saddlebags. There wasn’t a ton of room, so I hadn’t really brought much. Grampa Max would have known what to do. He’d always known what to do. I sighed at my depressing thoughts and trudged through the snow. Thank the gods for Justin Boots. The damn things could handle anything. Including wet snow.

 

I still couldn’t smell or see anything interesting around an hour later. I wasn’t feeling so hot either. I was freezing. Short sleeves and freezing temperatures didn’t mix in the slightest. My head was insistently throbbing and I didn’t have anything I could take for it. I should have brought the human first aid kit, but I was too worried about Wrex to think of it at the time. I got fed up with hardly taking a steady step, so I mounted Jax and went along for the ride.

 

* * *

 

 

Somehow I’d fallen asleep in the saddle and it was dark by the time I finally woke up. I didn’t feel any better than I had before I’d fallen asleep. I pulled Jax to a halt and called Wrex over. I needed to start a fire before hypothermia fully kicked in and I died. I was already suffering from the effects. I pulled dried sticks and twigs off the lower branches of the trees around me and started a fire. There is always a reason to carry a lighter. I used to smoke cigarettes, so even though I had quit some time ago I still carried my lighter. It’s an even harder habit to break than smoking, which is its own special hell.

 

I started warming up with my little fire, but it wasn’t going to last long enough to keep me safe from freezing to death in the night. I didn’t like the idea of dying from exposure. I didn’t like the idea of getting frostbite. Though, I think I already had it. Wrex stood up suddenly and started barking furiously. I could probably now add ‘possible death by predator’ to the growing list of ways I was very likely to die in the next few hours. If even that. My eyes started to close of their own violation. I tried to pry them open, but it wasn’t working. The fire was a false sense of security. I was dying anyways.

 

Wrex continued to bark. My brain slowly registered that it was his ‘hey, over here’ bark. Distant shouts joined in with his barks and Jax whinnied nervously. Too much noise. I had no idea what Jax thought he was doing, but he was being too loud. I wanted to die if peace if I was going to die. Wrex was suddenly in my lap with a low whine, but he started barking again and the shouts came closer.

 

I blearily looked up as someone started calling for me. I’d been called ‘Miss’ enough in the last few months to feel like someone was trying to get my attention when they said. I was greeted with the sight of a man in a dress attempting to get my attention. He looked really worried. He frowned hard. I would have laughed at the sight if I could have functioned well enough to speak. I frowned when he started to get fuzzy. I frowned harder when the edges of my vision turned black. Wrex’s whine was the last thing I heard as I lost consciousness.


	2. One Step Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korbin makes an ass of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter chapter. I'm still looking to do weekly updates, but I have tons of ideas right now.
> 
> Fixed a problem where Korbin was somehow hearing Wrex barking while she was inside the infirmary tent. It's soundproof. How the hell is she going to hear what's going on outside?

**Stories Untold: The Alternate Story**

**Chapter Two: One Step Closer**

 

* * *

 

As I woke up I realized I was no longer freezing to death. It crossed my mind that I could either be past the point of feeling the cold or I could actually be dead. Judging by the weight I could feel over my body and the sounds I could hear around me, I was alive and warm. I vaguely remembered a man in a dress frowning at me, but I wasn’t actually sure if that had happened. I drifted in and out of sleep.

 

After a while, I became aware, in part, of someone speaking fairly close to my bed.

 

“She should wake any day,” a woman was saying. “She came very close to death but we believe she will be just fine.” Whoever she was, she sounded like a doctor.

 

“The sooner she wakes the better,” another woman replied. I couldn’t pinpoint her accent, but I could probably fall asleep listening to her. “I would very much like to know who she is and where she came from.” Her accent almost sounded French, but not exactly like it.

 

I drifted off again for a while but it didn’t last long. I pulled the blanket away from my face and instantly regretted it. I appeared to be inside a large tent that reeked of rotting meat, blood, piss, charred meat, and shit. It made me gag and cover my mouth and nose up again. My eyes watered from the smell lingering in my nose. It was fucking awful. I slowly sat up to look around only to realize I wasn’t in a bed. I was on a cot, strangely enough.

 

It looked like I was in some sort of field infirmary. There wasn’t an empty cot to be found. The wounds ranged from deep cuts to missing limbs to severe burns. I started to panic. I had no idea what was going on for people to have wounds like that and for some of them to be so severely infected. Where the hell was I? Why were these people dressed so strangely? Just what the fuck was going on? The panic attack crashed into me before I had time to realize it was coming. I was so trapped in the pressure in my chest that I didn’t hear the woman telling me to breathe.

 

“Deep, even breaths,” she was saying. “That’s it. Take it slow, dear. You’ll be just fine.” Her very English sounding accent threw me off a bit but over all I was just glad she was able to talk me through the panic attack. Even if I’d only heard part of what she’d said. I tried to speak to her, but my voice cracked. I needed water. I’d obviously been out for a while. The woman seemed to know exactly what I needed and brought me a cup of water. I drank it gratefully.

 

“Where am I?” I asked her as soon as I was done. “What’s going on? What happened to these people? Where’s my dog? Where’s my horse? What-”

 

“Easy,” the woman said, cutting me off from asking more questions. “Your dog is with the Commander. He’s fine. Even with all that infernal racket he’s making. As for your horse, it’s being cared for by soldiers that aren’t quite ready to rejoin the fight.” She smiled at me softly. “This is the infirmary and it is safe. You are in Haven now. My name is Olivia. I believe that should be sufficient until we know more about you. In these times it is hard to know who is friend and who is enemy.”

 

“I’m so confused,” I breathed. “Am I with an army of some sort? You said Wrex was with a commander and Jax is with soldiers, but this makes no sense. I’ve never heard of a place called Haven, either. I honestly don’t understand what’s going on here or even half of what you’re telling me.”

 

Olivia looked at me with pity. “If what you say is true it’s possible you’ve lost your memory. You were found not a mile from the walls.”

 

“Seriously?” I asked with a snort. “I know exactly who I am and where I’m from. I remember the complete hell that has been the last several months of my life. Losing my memory would probably be a blessing at this point.” I ran my hands over my face. “Listen, I just need Wrex until someone can explain things to me better. I’d like to see Jax but I doubt I can walk just yet. Can you please have this commander person bring him to me?”

 

“I will see what can be done about moving you to another tent,” Olivia said coolly. “I’ll not have that beast in here trying to chew on the wounded.” She turned on her heal and quickly exited the infirmary.

 

I frowned at her retreating back. I was such an idiot. I shouldn’t have acted like that when all she had been was nice and accommodating. Olivia didn’t have to go out of her way to explain this strange situation to me and I’d basically been the worlds biggest ass. My disbelief was warranted but my tone voice hadn’t been. I needed to get control of myself.

 

Olivia returned a while later and took her time checking on others before addressing me tersely. “I was unable to speak with Commander Cullen about returning your dog to you. You will simply have to retrieve him when you can walk well enough. I have found other accommodations for you since you are well enough to leave.” She tucked her hands behind her back before retaking the air of a doctor. “I healed the laceration on your head while you slept. It should not trouble you.”

 

“I’m sorry,” I said suddenly. It caught her off guard and she didn’t seem to know what to say. “I… There was no reason for me to treat you that way. You don’t deserve it. You’ve been nothing but kind to me and I went and ruined it. My confusion and stress are no reason to treat you like you’re not a person. It was wrong of me.” Olivia teared up with her hands covering her mouth. She suddenly turned on her heal and ran out of the infirmary. “Olivia! Wait!” She didn’t hear me calling for her. I sighed in confusion. Why did people have to be so confusing?

 

Olivia had mentioned healing my head wound and I lifted my hand to the area to feel for the scabbing. There was nothing. No scar, no scratch, no _nothing._ It was like it had never happened. My mouth hung open in shock and confusion. What in the ever loving fuck was going on here?

 

* * *

 

 

While I waited for someone, anyone really, to come help me out of the infirmary I amused myself with counting the stitches on the seam above me. Ignoring the stench of rotting wounds was difficult. I briefly wondered why there was no one else here watching the wounded to make sure they didn’t need anything… or die in their sleep. The smell was enough to turn aside the idea that they weren’t actually hurt or dying.

 

This entire situation was bizarre and I had no idea why I was just going along with everything Olivia had told me. It was insane. I didn’t recognize the uniforms the wounded soldiers were wearing. The wounds they had were insane. And, if I was being completely honest with myself, Olivia had hinted at the use of magic by saying the word ‘mage’. That was a class in fantasy games. Not real life. Just what the fuck was going on here? I needed some solid fucking answers that didn’t involve someone suggesting I had lost my memory.

 

Sick of the feeling of isolation, I swung my legs over the side of the cot and made an attempt to stand up. I felt weak and I was hungry. I should have asked about some food, but I’d wanted answers worse. My knees buckled a bit but I didn’t hit the ground, so I took that as a good sign. I started to think there could be a chance of walking my happy ass out of there.

 

I sat back down once I realized my boots were on the ground next to my cot. I pushed my feet into them and let out a tired sigh. I just wanted things to make sense. As it was, nothing did and I missed knowing exactly what was going on around me. Even if that reality was bleak and entailed being homeless with a horse and a dog. I thought about whistling for Wrex so I wouldn’t feel so alone but I didn’t want to disturb the people around me.

 

Finally, I pushed myself off the cot and pulled a blanket around myself before wobbling out the tent flaps. I was greeted with crisp, cold air and more snow. People milled about, going about their day to day it seemed. A nearby soldier seemed confused at my sudden exit and sprinted off. I couldn’t be bothered to care. I closed my eyes and breathed in. The smell of horses and the fairly fresh air had my full attention. I had assumed that Haven was fairly empty but that wasn’t the truth. You just couldn’t hear jack shit inside the infirmary. It was pretty much completely sound proof.

 

When I finally opened my eyes and looked up I was greeted with a sight I was not prepared for. Panic rose at the sight of a giant green hole in the sky with rocks violently shooting out of it. It made me feel like I was about to keel over and it simultaneously made me think I was forgetting something very important. I was confused and freaked out by the damn thing.

 

“You should not be out here,” a woman said evenly. She was behind me. It was the same woman I had heard during one of my brief moments of consciousness. “It is cold, you are not well, and you were not given permission to leave the infirmary on your own.”

 

“What is that thing?” I asked, voice hardly above a whisper. I couldn’t seem to turn my back on the hole. “How did it happen?”

 

“You have not heard?” she asked and I shook my head in the negative. “The Temple of Sacred Ashes exploded and the Breach was what was left behind. You know nothing of this?”

 

My breath was getting caught in my lungs. Had an explosion caused _that_? “I don’t even know where the hell I am. I mean, Olivia told me this is Haven but I have no idea where that is. I don’t know what the temple you’re talking about is. This is insane.”

 

“Please try to look away from the Breach and at me,” the woman said with a sigh. I slowly brought my gaze down and looked to where she stood. I could hardly see her face under the hood she wore but red hair peeked out. “Good. You aren’t supposed to be out here.”

 

“I’m sorry,” I said tiredly. “This whole day has been a total clusterfuck. Olivia said she’d found a tent I could stay in but… she ran off when I apologized for treating her poorly after something she said. I haven’t seen her since then and I could handle being in there much longer. I’m completely confused by what’s going on. I just want some answers and to see my animals.”

 

If I thought the woman would soften towards me I would have been wrong. She studied me in a way that made me feel like she was ferreting out all my secrets. It was disturbing in a way. I needed to remember that, even though the people there had saved me, I was basically an intruder.

 

“What is your name?” she asked me in a conversational way. I didn’t trust her tone for a second. “I am Sister Leliana.”

 

Her name didn’t mean a thing to me, though she looked as though it should. “My name is Korbin Montgomery. I… guess it’s a pleasure to meet you?”

 

Sister Leliana gave me a ghost of a smile but it was lost on me. I had no idea what she expected of me. “Where are you from, Korbin?”

 

I didn’t skip a beat. “Lowndesboro, Alabama.”

 

“I have never heard of such a place,” she said flatly.

 

“I’ve never heard of Haven or the Temple of Sacred Ashes yet here we are having this weird ass conversation,” I said with a shrug. I wasn’t concerned if she believed me or not, though I should have been. I was fed up with not getting any real answers. I wanted to know just what the hell was going on and told her as much.

 

She ignored my questions. “Why did you risk freezing to death?”

 

“It wasn’t my choice,” I snapped! “I have no idea how I even got here in the first place! What makes you think I would willingly endanger my own life and those of my animals?”

 

“Calm yourself,” she said as if I hadn’t begun yelling. “It was simply a question.”

 

Someone called for Sister Leliana and cut our conversation short. She told me to return to my cot until someone came to escort me to my new living arrangements. I ignored her and sat down on a nearby rock. I wasn’t going back in there. I couldn’t do it. I knew I was being a snotty brat but the _smell._ I couldn’t do it.

 

“Look who’s up and moving around!”

 

I looked up to see a short man with his chest hair on display. I had no idea what to think of this oddly exuberant man. “Um, hi?”

 

He chuckled warmly at the greeting. “Hi, yourself. The name’s Varric Tethras. Who might you be?”

 

“My name is Korbin Montgomery,” I said slowly. I was completely overwhelmed by how friendly Varric was.

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Korbin,” he said with a smile. “I saw you speaking with the Nightingale and thought I’d come see how you’re doing.”

 

I frowned. He must have meant Sister Leliana. “Not so great. Apparently, I’m a prisoner of the infirmary.”

 

“You’ll have to forgive Red,” he said with a frown. “A lot of bad shit has happened and everyone is on their toes. No one knows exactly what’s happened or who to blame, so new faces are treated like criminals around here.”

 

“Maybe you could tell me what’s going on,” I said hopefully. “At least, what you do know?”

 

Varric snorted. “They’re keeping you in the dark. Tell me what you do know.”

 

“There’s a giant green whole in the sky,” I said, recounting what little I knew. “Some temple exploded. I’m a prisoner. We’re in some place I’ve never heard of before. Oh, and some commander or another has my dog.”

 

Varric’s demeanor changed greatly. “Shit. You don’t know anything that’s going on.” He launched into an explanation about how the mages and Templars had met at the Conclave to come to a peace agreement. Someone had not only destroyed the temple but also killed someone called the Divine. Someone else had walked out of the destruction alive.

 

“I’m more confused than ever,” I sighed and dropped my head into my hands. “Ugh, this is so insane.”

 

“Which part, Shorty?” he asked.

 

I eyed him from between my fingers. “All of it. None of this makes sense. Magic isn’t even real!” Varric looked at me with wide eyes. I didn’t understand what the hell was going on. Why was he looking at me like that? “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“Shorty,” he said slowly. “What you just said goes against everything I’ve ever seen in my life. Exactly how hard did you hit your head?”

 

A feeling of complete and utter loneliness settled on my heart. Varric thought there was something wrong with me because I said magic didn’t exist. He either didn’t believe me or thought I’d lost my shit thanks to a head wound. “I just want to go home,” I said thickly. Throat closing.

 

Varric frowned. “You really believe magic doesn’t exist, don’t you?” I nodded sadly. “What’s the first thing you remember about being here?”

 

“Snow,” I muttered. “I woke up in the snow and I had no idea where I was or how I’d gotten there. Where I come from it doesn’t snow often. It’s summer. Why would it snow?”

 

“Shit,” he muttered hotly. “Are you sure you didn’t just hit your head forget everything?”

 

“I’m completely sure,” I told him. “I’m forgetting something, but that’s not it.”

 

Varric nodded rapidly but noticed soldiers beginning to head out. “Shorty, I’m heading for the valley to fight demons. You keep yourself out of trouble until I get back. I’ll help you sort this shit out but you need to keep to yourself until then, OK?”

 

I nodded, eyes wide at the mention of demons, but didn’t say anything. I would do what he told me to and hope like hell we could make sense of this.

 

* * *

 

 

Olivia had returned not long after Varric left. She apologized for running off like she had but she explained that she was a mage and they weren’t treated like everyone else. My apology had taken her completely by surprise. I thought it was sad that she was treated badly just because she was different. It pissed me off if we’re being honest. No one should be treated like they’re less than dirt simply because they possess skills others don’t.

 

Olivia had escorted me to a tiny tent with a pallet on the ground rather than a cot. It didn’t really bother me. It was like camping. She’d somehow found clothing for me that was warmer than mine. I ignored the oversized boots and kept mine on. I thought that the pants she found for me would be a problem. They were leather and I could stand to lose a few pounds. Everyone I had seen could stand to gain weight. Some were even gaunt in a way that spoke of a lack of food. I was down right fat compared to most. It made me feel even more self-conscious than usual. I didn’t even want to think about the provided underwear.

 

Honestly, I felt like my ass was on display. The tunic didn’t help. It was tight across my breasts and hips. Actually, it basically grabbed my boobs and hung on for dear life. To make matters worse, it was made mostly from leather as well. Thankfully Olivia had provided a warm coat that, while it was a bit too big, covered my ass and boobs when it was buttoned. It nearly swept the ground. Obviously, it wouldn’t have been so long on someone taller than my five foot two. The second I rolled up the sleeves to a manageable length I felt like Gambit from X-Men. It made me giggle.

 

Ignoring how badly my round toed cowboy boots stood out, I exited the tent in an attempt to locate both Jax and Wrex. I looked towards the gates that led into the actual town of Haven and spotted a sorry excuse for a stable. It was well past the infirmary and my current dwelling. After a quick look around to see if Sister Leliana could see me, I started walking towards the stables. There weren’t many people around but those that were stared at me. I didn’t want to contemplate why.

 

Once I reached the stables I was fairly confused. Most of the few horses looked like they’d spent their lives pulling a plow. Three horses seemed to be in fairly good condition with no sway back. I walked down the line until Jax’s dappled face poked out at me and he nickered. It looked like he’d been taken care of.

 

“Hey Jax,” I whispered as I scratched his cheeks. “Did you miss me, buddy?” Jax answered by planting his face in my chest. His favorite way to show affection. “Aw, it looks like they took good care of you.” I spotted my saddle perched on a stand next to the stall door. My saddlebags were still tied to the saddle, so I opened the flap on one side to see if everything was still there. They hadn’t searched it, likely thinking I didn’t have anything since I was freezing to death. I shared a granola bar with Jax while I thought about what to do.

 

It was obvious that mounting up and leaving wasn’t a good option. I had no idea where I was. I might have warmer clothes now, but was it enough to survive in a frozen landscape until I could find safety elsewhere? No, I didn’t think it was. I didn’t even know which direction to go in. I could be risking my and Jax’s lives and that wasn’t something I was willing to do. I didn’t even know where Wrex was.

 

Speaking of Wrex, I needed to find him. I hoped he was being taken care of as well. I promised Jax I would return and walked out of the stables before letting out a long, loud whistle. Wrex began barking further along the wall the stables were backed by, so I followed the sound. When he stopped I gave a shorter whistle. We played this little game until I spotted him in a clearing, tied to a tent that was larger than my own. No one was around, so I untied him and took him back to my tiny tent. I was tired and it was about time I actually tried to get some rest.


End file.
